Phil Maddocks: Attorney General Gonzales fires himself for political reasons

Friday

Aug 31, 2007 at 12:01 AMAug 31, 2007 at 1:57 AM

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced Monday that he had fired himself for political reasons. He said his firing would take effect Sept. 17.

By Philip Maddocks

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced Monday that he had fired himself for political reasons. He said his firing would take effect Sept. 17.

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the investigation would not end with Gonzales' firing of himself and hinted that the attorney general could face perjury charges if he wasn’t more forthcoming about the reasons for firing himself.

"Congress must get to the bottom of this mess and follow the facts where they lead, into the White House, into Michael Vick’s doghouse, wherever." said the Nevada Democrat. "The attorney general has shown very poor judgment in the past. I don’t know why we would feel any more confident with this decision."

Gonzales, whose personal credibility has been a casualty of the multiple controversies, claimed he couldn’t recall why he went after himself, he only knows it was because of his political affiliation.

"It’s true, as Sen. Arlen Specter [the senior GOP member of the Judiciary Committee] said during my hearing, that my testimony was significantly if not totally at variance with the facts, but I know that’s not why I fired myself. It’s just difficult for me to explain because I wasn’t really involved with the firing except as the person who did it."

The attorney general didn’t rule out the possibility of torturing himself, either, saying that it "may be justified," and that international laws against torture "may be unconstitutional if applied to him."

Gonzales made a brief appearance before reporters at the Justice Department to announce his firing. "Even my worst days as attorney general have been better than Donald Rumsfeld’s best as defense secretary," he said.

Gonzales told the Senate Judiciary Committee as recently as July 24 that he had decided to stay in his post despite numerous calls for his resignation. He said Monday during his brief press conference that he was "proud he didn’t give into the pressure to resign" and instead fired himself "with dignity."

President Bush, Gonzales' most dogged defender, told reporters he had accepted the firing reluctantly. "I am only glad that it was Alberto who is dragging his good name through the mud for political reasons. He at least deserved that chance," Bush said.

Several officials said the attorney general called Bush at his ranch last Friday to offer to fire himself. Bush did not attempt to dissuade him but accepted with reluctance, they said. The president then invited Gonzales and his wife to Sunday lunch where they discussed his firing in excruciatingly little detail.

Some political observers suggested that Gonzales had decided to fire himself in order to protect his reputation.

"Resignation, no matter how much dignity it is done with, inevitably looks like capitulation. Whereas firing tends to look more defiant. And since it was the attorney general who did the firing, he gets the added advantage of appearing decisive and demanding," said one.

Congressmen were somewhat taken aback by the attorney general’s unorthodox leavetaking.

Said one, "Even after all the scrutiny, it doesn't appear that Attorney General Gonzales resigned. But whether he deserves to be fired by himself is another matter."

Under Gonzales and Bush, "the Department of Justice suffered a severe crisis of leadership that allowed our justice system to be corrupted by political influence," said another. "Just because he fired himself for political reason doesn’t make all that go away — though I must say it is a good start."

The speculation about a successor began immediately, but many legal scholars suggested that it would be difficult to find a worthy replacement.

"We all thought John Ashcroft would be the standard by which all bad attorneys general are measured, but Gonzales eclipsed him," noted one scholar. "Is it possible there is someone out there that could better the record set by the current attorney general? It’s possible, but I wouldn’t bet on it."

The shortlist for the position is rumored to include Karl Rove, the president's chief political strategist, who announced his resignation last week; former presidential counselor Dan Bartlett and Harriet Miers, the former White House counsel who was forced to withdraw her nomination for the Supreme Court.

All would be worthy successors to Gonzales, said one observer. But the frontrunner for the job, he said, is Fred Thompson, who is currently at work on a forthcoming book, "All I Really Need to Know I Learned on ‘Law and Order.’"

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